Buhari’s rice project can get him re-elected in 2019 – Lai Mohammed

The minister of information, Lai Mohammed, has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s rice revolution is enough for him to be re-elected in 2019.

Mohammed noted that the project has taken a lot of Nigeria out of poverty and that Buhari deserves to be re-elected. The minister spoke in Lagos on Monday, April 2, saying 60 per cent of the rice eaten in the country was produced locally.

He said: “The agricultural revolution in general and the rice revolution, in particular, have taken millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

”As a matter of fact, today, 60% of rice eaten in Nigeria is produced in Nigeria. In the words of the rice processors, the rice revolution alone is enough to guarantee re-election for President Buhari, if he decides to run again!

“We want to use this opportunity to appeal to Nigerians to complement the efforts of the government by consuming only locally-grown and processed rice. It is fresher. It is tastier. It is healthier. It has not spent months on the high seas and warehouses.

“We don’t know where or how imported rice is made or how old it is? It is reported that most of the rice dumped on us are old and probably rejects.

”The citizens of those countries do not eat this rice. The citizens of Benin also do not eat it. But they send it to us. Unhealthy foods are dangerous to health. So let’s eat what we can vouch for.

”But Nigerians should remember that every time they eat imported rice, they are eating the jobs that would have been created for Nigerians and instead funding the creation of jobs in the source countries. Just imagine that less than three years into the rice revolution, millions of jobs have been created in the whole value chain.

“It is important for Nigerians to know that when they consume imported rice, they are creating jobs in India and Thailand and destroying jobs across our country.

”Today we have rice farmers in all states and all geopolitical zones. In fact, most of us have friends and relatives who are farming rice. So if we don’t patronize their product, we are destroying their livelihoods.

“In this regard, we are embarking on a massive nationwide campaign to sensitize our compatriots to the need to support the rice revolution by consuming local rice.

”Nigerians are patriots. They want more jobs. They will support the rice revolution and Nigeria will become Self-sufficient in rice sooner than we have started.”